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International Society for Academic Research on Shamanism

ISARS 2026 SEOUL

Shamanism and Power
Dialogues Across Knowledge, Art, and Society
June 24–27, 2026 · Sogang University, Seoul
26

Friday, June 26

Day Three

Sessions & Presentations

Session 509:00–10:30J Building
The Global Appeal of Korean Shamanism
J207
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 09:00–10:30
Yang Jongsung
The Museum of Shamanism as Trove of Korean Religious Culture
Seong Nae Kim
Haunting Memory of Violence, Ritual Laments of The Dead, and Korea’s Jeju Massacre.
Kim Dongkyu
Beyond Koreannes: Reframing Korean Shamanism in a Globalized Context
Liora Sarfati
Mediatized Global Interest and Local Shamanic Traditions in Korea
Andrea Kalff
Ritual-Design as Intervention - First European in Dialogue
Contemporary Shamanism, Power, the Arts and Modern Expressions – Part I
J209
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 09:00–10:30
Veronica French
Contemporary Shamanism, Animism, and Dark Green Religion in Pop Culture
Giovanna Parmigiani
Neo-shamanism, Gender, and Sensory Politics in Contemporary Italy: The Case of Spiritual Neo-Tarantismo
Helena Karhu
In the cliff the red ochre glows fierce – Radical Creativity, Art, and Deep-time Continuum of Shamanism in East Finland
Aaron French
Moderator
Shamanism, Art, Materiality & Performance
J307
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 09:00–10:30
park Jeongae
The Hackberry Tree(pangnamu) as a Shamanic Subject: Power, Memory, and Non-Human Agency in Hwang Sok-yong’s Halmae
Shine
The Somatic Experience of Energetic Cleansing: A Shamanic Perspective
Gilah Yelin Hirsch
Artist as Shaman
Galina Sychenko
The power of words and the power of vocal sounding: between the “classical” and the reduced forms of South Siberian shamanism
10:30–11:00
Coffee Break
Session 611:00–12:30J Building
Contemporary Shamanism, Power, the Arts and Modern Expressions – Part II
J215
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Daria KuznetsovaZOOM
Performing Loyalty? Visibility and Indigenous Belonging in Contemporary Siberian Shamanism
Alice AhernZOOM
Magic and Shamanism in ‘The Irish Folklore Trilogy’: Nature and the Land as sites of re-enchantment in popular culture works
Hanna Ellen Guttorm
Be(com)ing Spiritual: Reviving the Ancient Wisdom of Circularity and Creation of One
Veronica French
Navigating Power, Agency and Legitimacy in Contemporary Shamanic Contexts - 2 Case Studies
Aaron French
Moderator
Shamanism and Contradictions in Africa and Beyond – Part 1
J217
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Agnieszka Podolecka
South African sangomas as mediators between contradictive realities. The power of hope and forgiveness.
Bobby Luthra Sinha & Annapurna Pandey
Between Spirits and the State: Indigenous Healing and Power Asymmetries of the Shamans in India’s Tribal Communities
Fábio Stern
Shamanism in Academia? Appropriation, Adaptation, and the New Age Legacy in Brazilian Naturology
Joana Bahia
Spiritual technologies, agency and healing during COVID
Negotiating Spirits: Contemporary Shamanism in China (I)
J219
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Naran Bilik
Shamanism and Thirdness: Negotiating Middle Ground
Shuyun Guo
The Connotation and Characteristics of Dualistic Thinking in Manchu Shamanism: A Perspective from the Concept of Deities and Spirits in the Wusu Guwalgiya Clan
Xiaoshuang Liu
Revisiting Self-Concept: Shamanic Treatment of Mental Illness in Northern China
K-pop Demon Hunters and Shamanism
J207
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Seil Oh & Jimin Oh
K-pop Demon Hunters and Shamanism from the Perspective of the Sociology of Religion
Lin Kim
Mediated Shamanism in K-pop Culture: Visuality, Reception, and the Global Imaginary
Mikyoung Kim & Yeonchang Sung
Visualizing Shamanism: Mythic Mediation between Life and Death in K-pop Demon Hunters and Coco (co-presented with Yeonchang Sung)
SUN YUTING
Sacred Reconstruction in the Algorithmic Age: A Study of "Digital Spirituality" and Divination Practices Among Chinese and Korean Youth
Mongolian Shamanism
J309
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Tegshbayar Gerelbayar
Contemporary Mongolian Shamanism: A Case Study of Spirit Teachings, Q&A Practices, and Rituals through Social Media and Print Media
Feng Liu
Between Fire and Spinning: Power, Trance, and Revival in Mongolian Shamanism
Khishigsuren Dorj
Legends of Ancient Mongol Boo
Digital, Media & Contemporary Shamanism
J307
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Maryam Abbasi
Streaming Spirits: Occult Lives, Digital Rituals, and Mediated Power in Contemporary Iran
Andrej Kapcar
Digital Shamans and the Occult Interface: Reimagining Shamanic Identity in Posthuman Gaming Worlds
Isabel Weitschies
From Trance to Trending: Digital Mediation and Ritual Authority in Mediumship Practices of Mother Goddess Worship in Vietnam
Theory, Movement & Yakutia
J209
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 11:00–12:30
Giorgio De Martino
"Per aspera ad astra" - Bioenergy, Dance, Power, and Shamanism: Steps Toward a Methodology for Investigating the Importance of Astrology and Cultural Astronomy in Shamanic Studies: Calculation and Negotiation between Heaven and Earth
Oleg Sidorov
New interaction with «old» spirits in the shamans’ practices: case of Yakutia, Siberia.
Alice Barale
Dialogue and Power: Three Theoretical Paradigms in the Mirror of Artificial Intelligence
12:30–14:00
Lunch (Provided) & Korean Dance Performance
Session 714:00–15:30J Building
Negotiating Spirits: Contemporary Shamanism in China (II)
J219
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 14:00–15:30
Feng Qu
The Double Identities of the Shaman and the Dualistic Attitudes of the State: An Exploration of Contemporary Organizational Shamanism in Northeast China
Haiyan Xing
Spirits of Healing: Xibo Shamanic Therapeutics and the Cultural Ecology of Ritual Persistence in Contemporary China
Yunfan Zhang
From Shamanic Rituals to Digital Divination: The Transformation of Superstition in Contemporary China
Zhengting Zuo
Iteration, Reconstruction and Adaptation: Miao/Hmong Shamanism Culture in Miao/Hmong Cultural Tourism
Sounding Shamanic Worlds: Music, Rhythm, Dance, and Voice from Court and Shrine to the Secular Stage
J207
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 14:00–15:30
Chun In Pyong
The Deongdeokgung Rhythm in Shamanic Ritual Music and the Rhythm of Chihwapyeong in the Annals of King Sejong
SO Inhwa
Interpretation of Salpuri Dance in Association with Shamanism
Song Mee-hyang
Rhythmic Structure (Jangdan) and Melodic Characteristics of the “Emperor’s Reproach Exorcism” (Hwangje Puri) at the Geumseongdang Shrine
Jocelyn Clark
Give and Take: Sinawi, Shamanic Authority, and the Politics of Cultural Heritage
Seah Hong
Masculinity and Phonic Mechanisms in Mongolian Shamanism: The Correlation Between 'Khoomei' Throat Singing and Spiritual Manifestation
Shamanism and Contradictions in Africa and Beyond – Part 2
J215
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 14:00–15:30
Etienne Bourel
Aspects of the practice of ombwiri in northeastern Gabon in light of issues of social change and development
Katarzyna WojtylakZOOM
The healer who can harm: Ambivalent spiritual authority among the Murui-Muina from Northwest Amazonia
Ullrich Kleinhempel
South African Sangomas as mediators between contradictive realities. The power of hope and forgiveness.
Agnieszka Podolecka
Moderator
Korean Shamanism: Ritual, Music & Region
J311
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 14:00–15:30
Youmi Kang
Ritual After Fire: Yeonhee and the Restoration of Transcendence
Kim Younghee
The Ritual Effects and Social Meanings of the Jeju Gut, Viewed through the Cultures of 'Puri' (Unbinding) and 'Solidarity'
Sujie Kim
Yŏlmyeong Ollim and Ritual Remediation: Shamanic Elevation of Names in Jeju 4·3 Memorial Practices
Sadie-o Park
Tension and Resolution at Gates: The Twelve Gates in Jeju Ritual of the Dead
Cross-Cultural Asia-Pacific
J217
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 14:00–15:30
Kao Ya-ning
Offerings and Cultural Significance in Zhuang Shamanic Rituals
Yayoi Mitsuda
Language Revitalization and the Transformation of Shamanic Knowledge: Oral-Written Transmission among the Thao of Taiwan
Chun Wei Daniel Lin
Indigenous Spiritual Forces in the News: Representation, Recognition, and Reconciliation in the Peripheral Vision of the Public Eye
Khalilah Nur 'Azmy
Chant, Authority, and Ecological Politics among Woman Shamans of the Meratus Mountains
Methodology & Ethics in Shamanism Research
J309
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 14:00–15:30
Carolina Ivanescu
‘You must experience it’: Art, Embodiment, and Knowledge Production in Shamanic Research
Han Sang Kim; Eunjung Kim; Hyun Gyung Kim
The Power of the Gaze Intertwined: Visual Ethnographers at Shamanic Rituals
Antonetta L. Bruno
"The Power of Documentation: Scriptorality, Authenticity, and Discourse Construction of Shamanism Scandals in Korea"
Zavi Kang Engles
A Magnitude in Motion: Remaking Shamanism in Contemporary Korean American Poetry and Art
15:30–16:00
Coffee Break
Session 816:00–17:30J Building
Multibeing Agencies, Joint Power: Mediating Power Through Craft, Ritual, and Relationships
J207
Panel
Fri · Jun 26 · 16:00–17:30
Victoria Soyan Peemot
Wisdom of the Snake: the Guardian, Helper, and Power of the Tyva Kham
Oyunbadam Chuluu (Erdenechimeg)
Crafting for the Shamans: Stitching Energy and Belonging Into Being
Jimena Bigá
Spirit-imbued Implements and Collective Agency in Sub-Middle São Francisco River, Brazil
Artysh Mongush
Mediation Between Worlds: The Shamanic Ritual “Uzun Khonuk” in Tyvan Funeral and Commemoration Practices
Korean Shamanism: Urban, Religion & Modernity
J311
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 16:00–17:30
Hyun Suk Kim
Urban Shamanism in Professional Sports: Are KBO Players’ Jinxes a Form of Shamanic Practice in Modern Seoul?
Myungsu Noh
The Similarities Between Shamanism and the Church Life of Urban Protestant Women in Korea
Sunjea Jay Lee
Reconsidering “Shamanism” under Cybernetic Totalism: Local Faith, Language, and Artistic Practice
WooHyun Jung
Unmediated Communion in a Mediated Market: Mu-bul Tongsin (無不通神) as Vernacular Critique of Korean Shamanic Commerce
Cho Won-rae
A Study on the Correlation and Distinctiveness of Shamanism and Feng Shui (Pungsu-jiri): Focusing on Resonance through Spirits and Ancestral Rites
Maritime Southeast Asia & Global Contexts
J209
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 16:00–17:30
Dewi Sekar Farrasyifa
Caring through Ritual Labor: Exploring the Life Course Practice & Reproductive History of an Aging Maraji in Transforming Ciluar
Boon-Ooi Lee
The Dang-ki’s Body as the Axis of Power Relationships in Singapore
Aglaia Iankovskaia
Ritual specialists in northern Sumatra: authority between text and community
Tran Hoai
Forest Spirits, Ritual Power, and Ecological Governance: Shamanic Mediation in Contemporary Highland Vietnam
Cross-Cultural Healing, Power & Cosmologies
J309
Individual Session
Fri · Jun 26 · 16:00–17:30
Evgenia Fotiou
A House Full of Medicine: Sorcery, Power and Agency in a Healing Ritual in the Peruvian Amazon
Diana Espírito Santo
Building power bridges to the infra-world in demonic Havana: creole spiritism´s control of chaotic times
Elsa Rossi
Spiritism in Clinical Contexts: Correlations between “Shamanic” Mediumism and Kardecist Practice in Brazil
Hyoung-June Shim
The fragmentation of divination's functions in online fortune-telling reviews: Comfort, knowledge, and play redistributed across platforms, and the place of shamanic counseling
17:45–18:00
Closing Ceremony (J302)
18:00–19:00
Dinner (Sandwich Provided, Mary Hall)
19:00–21:00
Performance Art (Mary Hall)